THEY say good things come to those who wait.

Two decades ago Stephen Williams embarked on writing a book and now he has finally achieved his ambition of seeing it published.

Stephen's self-published book Heroes and Tiny Giants is based on his two sons' exploits in the local woods and park.

Chris and Thomas were nine and six when their father began writing about their adventures. "I copyrighted it in 2002 and really it was a bedtime story for my children," explains the Bradford dad.

After dropping his wife, Janine, off at work on her weekend shifts, Stephen would head out to locations such as Hirst Wood in Saltaire with the boys and while they were running off their energy between the big old oak trees, his imagination was running riot with potential adventures his sons could be having with mythical beasts, legends and fairies.

"They are in the book as Chris and Thomas and they are nine and six, although they may have been slightly younger. It is for them why I started it, that is where it came from," says Stephen, who would often spend time on a Sunday afternoons drafting up his ideas.

"Then I would read it to the children and they loved it. They thought it was great because they were the two main characters," says Stephen, who also features in the book, along with Janine. "It's a story about two young boys who disappear from their own garden and they end up in a magical fantasy world. Their parents are looking for them, they find a clue as to where they have gone and follow them into there."

Stephen says he put plenty of research into finding out about myths and legends when creating the characters within his book.

"I did want it to be published years ago but then it has been put in a drawer and left," he says.

When he did finally get round to crafting it together it took him five years to write. The time consuming element was writing it, reading it and re-writing parts which all had to be slotted around his day job working as a production planner creating barcode labels for Bradford firm, The Watermill Press.

With encouragement from his family, his wife Janine and his biggest fans, their boys now aged 26 and 23, Stephen decided to self-publish the bedtime story which his own boys grew up with.

Now available on Amazon and Kindle, the book is an ambition Stephen has now finally achieved. "There is nothing nicer than not just seeing a copy of my own book in my hand, it took me five years to write it, but to have people read it and say they have enjoyed it. It is a boost," says Stephen.

Although the book is aimed at eights upwards Stephen believes adults will love it too, having tried and tested it on his own family, including his mum who is in her seventies.

"My Mum has read it and she loved it. One of my brothers has read it and loved it, other family and friends have read it or are reading it now, and a few people at work have said they are enjoying it. It's just a nice feeling," he says.

Stephen, who has three brothers and one sister, thanks his family and also his boys who inspired him to write the book all those years ago.

"They think it's great and it is something they can relate to because it is kind of based on them as they were children. It is creating a nice memory for them," he says.

Stephen, who recently finished writing another book based in Bradford, appreciates how difficult it can be for new authors to have their books published but his advice is to stick at it.

"The thing is if you have an idea get things written down because you will forget them and you just have to stick at it. You cannot think it is a short term thing because it takes years. It is my first book and it has taken five years to write it.

"But if you have a good idea, have a bit of self belief," adds Stephen.

* Heroes and Tiny Giants is available from Amazon.